


Gardening Tips

by AyuOhseki



Category: Shoujo Kakumei Utena | Revolutionary Girl Utena
Genre: Gen, Hostile, Self-Esteem Issues, Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-20 10:57:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13145217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AyuOhseki/pseuds/AyuOhseki
Summary: A pair of vignettes written for the 2017 Secret Santa exchange at Empty Movement. Kozue has never been keen on Anthy or the attention Miki lavishes on her. She drops by the rose garden to push her a bit, only to find herself pushed in turn. Meanwhile, Shiori, miserable after her failed apology to Juri, goes to the rose garden to feel sorry for herself. She's startled to find she's not there alone.





	1. Chapter 1

“What do you do when you have to weed the garden?”

Anthy looked up from watering the roses to blink at Kozue. “Hm?”

Kozue remained where she stood, arms folded over her chest, leaning on the glass wall right next to the only door. She kept smiling. It was the kind of smile one might find on a wolf's lips. “I heard a while back that you're _so_ gentle and _so_ kind-hearted that you couldn't bear to use insecticide on an infestation on the roses. You used some kind of orange spray instead to make them go away instead of killing them. Miki couldn't stop talking about how wonderful you were.”

Anthy continued to stare at Kozue with an expression of mild befuddlement. “Yes?”

It was that that Kozue most disliked about her. That carefully crafted air of innocence, of harmless sweetness--it was all so obviously _fake_. Sometimes it felt like she was the only one who could see it. And Miki had to obsess over _her_?

“So what do you do,” she continued, keeping her tone even and conversational, “when weeds start growing up around the roses? Sapping the life away from them? Draining their resources and all? Don't you _have_ to dig them up and stamp them out?”

That blank, brainless look of mild befuddlement continued. Then she smiled and turned back to watering the roses.

“Don't you think it's _rude_ ,” Kozue said waspishly, “to ignore someone when they ask you a question?”

“But you've already decided on the answer, haven't you?” Anthy replied, gentle and even, without looking back at her.

Kozue frowned. “But what's important about it is how _you_ answer.”

“Is it?”

And that annoyed her _so_ much, like a human that absolutely insisted on rubbing a cat's fur the wrong way despite its increasing warning yowls. She strode forward, still not laying a hand on her—she knew more than enough about Nanami and her cronies to know how outright violence against Anthy Himemiya turned out—but still between Anthy and the exit. She at least had the decency to take a step away from Kozue at this point, clutching her watering can to her chest as if it might somehow protect her, and blink wide-eyed at her.

“Then if you're so against having an opinion of your own, I'll tell you,” she said, clipped. “Weeds are weeds. They ruin the garden, just by existing. So you _have_ to rip them up, all the way down to the tiniest roots, so they never grow back again. Otherwise, they'll suck the roses dry.”

Anthy appeared to consider this. Then she nodded. “That certainly makes sense.”

Kozue's lip curdled. “'Makes sense'? It's the facts. It's reality, plain and simple.”

She smiled at her. Kozue hated that smile. It was the kind of smile adults made when they thought you were too young and stupid to understand anything, but pitied you too much to try to tear away your illusions. It had no right being on the lips of a girl only one year her senior.

“You're not wrong,” Anthy said, as if she were conceding something. “And?”

Kozue hesitated. That was the sum and total of her point. She wasn't expecting an 'and.' However, she hadn't gotten to where she was by letting anyone _else_ toy with her, so she affected confidence, settling a hand on her hip and turning her nose up at the other girl. “And don't you think it's dishonest to act like you value all life when you _know_ you have to destroy some to protect others?”

Anthy appeared to consider this, too. Then she went back to watering the roses. “I think,” she said serenely, “it's more dishonest for one to act as though they care about such things when their only real interest is in using it to antagonize someone they don't like.”

That blew Kozue away. It was a total dodge, of course, but more to the point, it was an _opinion_ , an outright _criticism_ of her. She hadn't actually expected Anthy to be... it wasn't exactly vicious, but it was definitely pointed.

So she laughed coldly. “Huhh... Is that so? And here I didn't think you had any opinion but what someone else told you to have. Isn't that how being the Rose Bride works?”

“Hmm... Are you interested in finding out for yourself?”

“ _Me_?” Kozue scoffed. “No thank you. I'd rather die than be a helpless little princess.”

Anthy smiled. “I see.”

And that was that. She'd said that specifically for the reaction, and was annoyed to see it netted next to none. Then again, it's not as though Anthy was ignorant of the fact that Kozue sometimes came to the Student Council Room with Miki. Kozue just hadn't expected her to have paid attention. Maybe she wasn't giving her enough credit after all.

But that frankly just made her even worse, all considered.

“Your sweet-girl act isn't fooling anyone, by the way,” she added. “I know you know this.”

“My!”

Kozue clenched a fist. It was so tempting—but no. If she was going to go _that_ route, she needed a decent alibi and a long, long set of stairs. She opted to roll her eyes and rest that hand on her hip. “Is it fun to act vapid?” she asked. “To let everyone push you around?”

Her expression... didn't exactly change, but it settled, out of that wide-eyed fakeness into something, perhaps, more tired. Kozue shook her head but allowed herself a smirk of victory.

“Then why don't you _do_ something about it for once?” She didn't really care; she just wanted to needle her.

Anthy regained her polite smile. “Like what you do?”

Kozue frowned.

Anthy kept smiling as her eyes shut. “I'll be sure to let your Prince know you were worried about him.”

Kozue tensed. “My Prince?”

“Excuse me. I meant your brother.”

That tension froze her body. Then she barked out another laugh. “So you _can_ bite back when you want to! What a miracle!”

Anthy's response was to keep on watering the roses—i.e., none at all.

Kozue sighed and folded her arms. “You're really annoying.”

“Thanks muchly.”

“Were you even listening to me?”

“Did I need to be?”

“ _Ugh_ ,” she growled. “What does Miki even like in you?”

“Who knows?”

Who knew indeed. If Anthy was so insistent on not having a spine while still leaving out barbed wire for visitors, then fine, let her. But Kozue didn't consider this a loss, only a draw. There'd be another opportunity to make her show what she really was. All Kozue had to do was watch and wait, like a wild animal on the prowl.

 

* * *

 

“Hey,” Kozue purred, lying next to Anthy. “They say anyone who gets engaged to you gains miraculous, shining power.”

Anthy didn't react.

Kozue turned to her, her earrings whipping in the wind as the convertible sped around the dueling arena, smile smug and borderline greedy. “Show me that power, too.”

Still no reaction. But that was fine. Kozue was _very_ good at being persistent, and Miki was on the cusp of victory if he could just keep his eyes on the prize.

_But what was the prize she wanted him to win? What kind of garden was she aiming to sow?_

Ignoring those thoughts, she stroked Anthy's dark skin, spared her Prince a few words of advice, and pushed Anthy down on the leather car seat.

 


	2. Chapter 2

The door to the birdcage-shaped rose garden squeaked as Shiori opened and then shut it behind her. It made her wince, but no more than her disaster of an attempted apology had. She'd known she'd hurt Juri, known she hadn't deserved her forgiveness, but... did Juri really have to blow her off with such disdain? Like their friendship never even mattered?

She felt even worse now than when she'd let Juri's friend do as he pleased with her. Even more dirty and unwanted and unlovable.

Without dragging her head up, she slumped into a seat a few feet away from the door, pulled her legs to her chest, and buried her face between her knees. Why did she even try apologizing? She should've known Juri would blow her off. If it were her, she would've. Who would give someone as worthless as her the time of day, especially when they were as beautiful and fashionable and popular as Juri? Especially when someone like that had been betrayed?

_Except she never liked that boy._

And so even as she berated and degraded herself, molten jealousy prickled at Shiori's heart like the thorns of the roses surrounding her. Who was Juri to always act like she was better than her? She didn't even bother to look at her while she was apologizing! Who _did_ that?! Shiori poured her heart out and Juri didn't even care! She never—ever— _cared_!!

“U-um...”

Shiori jolted out of her angry reverie to see a dark-skinned girl blinking owlishly down at her. “O-oh, I'm so sorry!!” she stammered, scrambling to her feet. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you, I'll leave right a—huh?”

“I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you,” the other girl was saying at the same time.

Except it wasn't 'another girl'—it was... what was her name again? Right, Anthy Himemiya. She'd met her and her roommate in the gym just the other day. They'd been kind enough to join her in her dorm room and chat for a while. The two of them blinked each other other for a moment; then Shiori burst into nervous laughter, and Anthy smiled.

“Sorry again about that,” Shiori said, bowing, but now more relaxed. “I was lost inside my own head. I didn't even notice you were here, Himemiya-san.”

“It's all right,” Anthy said gently. She was so nice, and she had such a pretty smile. That smile shifted into a concerned frown. “Is everything all right? You seemed a little... upset, if I'm not mistaken...”

Shiori flushed with shame and resentment in equal measure. She was right on the money, of course, but she'd rather die than explain her humiliation at Juri's hands. “N-no, I'm okay! I was just, um... I was feeling a little light-headed,” she lied, “and I know this garden's usually empty, so, um, I came here for a little space and rest...”

“Oh, I see.”

“What're you doing here?” she added quickly.

Anthy smiled again. “I tend the roses here,” she replied. Sure enough, when Shiori looked down, she saw a pair of gardening shears in her long, tapered fingers.

“O-oh. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt,” she apologized, feeling out of place once again.

“It's quite all right,” Anthy reassured her, then turned back to the roses.

Shiori still felt out of place, but she didn't want to leave, so she hung around and watched. For some reason, Anthy was going around, snipping off rosebuds from vines already in bloom. It struck her as odd. Why would you want there to be _fewer_ roses? Surely Anthy knew what she was doing if she was supposed to be tending the garden, but it didn't make sense.

After a moment of dithering, Shiori managed the courage to ask, “U-um... why are you snipping flowers off? Isn't it better to have more roses in bloom?”

“Actually, too many flowers on a vine reduces the quality of the roses,” Anthy explained, gently and with patience. “Each bloom takes up precious resources. For this bloom,” she reached up and caressed a coral orange rose, “to be the best and most beautiful, I have to snip away the buds that would sap away the nutrients that allow it to be that way.”

Something inside Shiori's heart curdled. “Oh. Is that so.”

“Yes.” And Anthy resumed pruning the garden as if nothing were wrong.

And nothing was wrong to her, Shiori was sure. It's not like Anthy knew anything about her so-called friendship with Juri, beyond what Shiori herself had told her. But... she couldn't help but see herself as one of those buds, snipped away because she was leeching at the _true_ bloom's beauty.

_What could she be if she were allowed to grow to her full potential? Would she blossom even more grandly?_

No. No, that was stupid, she told herself. She'd just be a sub-par, ugly, bug-eaten blossom, her very existence detracting from something greater than herself. At best, being so wretched would just make that other rose look more beautiful by comparison. That was too pitiful for words.

She kept watching. After pruning the tiny buds, Anthy went on to snip away wilted and broken leaves. The reason there, at least, was obvious. It took careful, meticulous effort to culture such a beautiful plant...

…

Huh? All of a sudden, Shiori thought she had an insight into Juri. But then, as abruptly as the thought had come to her, it vanished, like a soap bubble popping the instant she touched it.

She crouched down next to Anthy. “Um... do you like taking care of the roses?” she wondered, not because she cared about the answer, but just to fill the awful silence.

“It's what I do.”

“Huh... It must be nice, having something you 'do,'” she said glumly. “I don't have anything like that, that I can say I'm good at...”

No. She could only fester in envy over those with bright talents. And just like that, with that thought, her jealousy swung back into self-reprimand. Wasn't it awfully arrogant of her to resent Juri for blowing her off? Even if she _hadn't_ liked their mutual friend, the fact was that Shiori approached him because she wanted to hurt her. That intent, to _hurt_ , was still there. Of course Juri hated her.

Of course. What a detestable, broken, withered leaf she was. She couldn't even serve a purpose.

Shiori shook her head violently. “H-Himemiya-san? Is... is it okay if I ask you something that might be a bit personal?”

Anthy looked up at her, blinking. “Hmm?”

Shiori met her lovely green eyes. They weren't quite the same shade as Juri's; Juri's was closer to the blue-green of the ocean, while Anthy's matched the verdant vines around them. “Do you think, if you've hurt someone, that you don't deserve forgiveness, even if you're really, truly sorry about it?”

Anthy's gaze softened into a delicate sort of pain. Shiori wondered all of a sudden if she'd been betrayed herself once upon a time. “It's not a matter of what you do or don't deserve. A person's feelings are their own; it's their decision to forgive or not forgive. You can do nothing about it.”

Shiori lowered her head. “Oh.” That made sense. It also made her feel worse than ever. She stood back up. “Thanks for the conversation, but I really ought to get going. It was nice seeing you again.” She bowed, then turned to leave.

“Good day to you, Takatsuki-senpai. Please cheer up.”

Was her misery that obvious? Self-conscious, Shiori hurried out of the garden and away.

 

* * *

 

Shiori smiled to herself as she stroked the petals of a beautiful white rose as her boyfriend spoke with the current Engaged. Heehee, her boyfriend! _Hers_! Ooh, the look on Juri's face had been too wonderful for words? She felt a little sorry for Anthy's betrothed, really she did, but the power of miracles would be hers. Hers and her new Prince's. _Then_ Juri would be sorry. Oh yes, she'd be very sorry indeed she ever looked down on her!

She gripped the stem of the rose and snapped it off. If only one rose was allowed to bloom with all its might, then she would make it hers. With a sweet smile, she stood and turned and bequeathed it to her dear senpai.

“Utena Tenjou, I challenge you to a duel,” he said.

Shiori's smile widened. She could already see Juri on her knees before her. It was an image so sweet, it made her heart flutter—so much so she almost didn't notice the level, knowing gaze Anthy sent her.

 


End file.
